The Archangel's Ranger: Book 1 The Ranger
by RangerEmilyMeratyn
Summary: What happens when a girl with a dark past meets two angels? A ton of chaos, that's what. Follow this Ranger as she fights to hold back her past, and keep the secret she never thought she had to keep. But, war is brewing. In the Mountains of Rain and Night, the evil Lord Morgarath is planning his return to Araluen. Will the Ranger be able to fight off this threat?
1. Prologue: The Light

_Road to Araluen Fief, Country of Araluen in the year 967_

 _Shortly after the Kalkara attacks_

The rain was coming down in little clouds of mist that seemed to not touch the ground, but hover above it. It was the type of rain that was enjoyable compared to other types of rain, but it soaked into the fabric of the treated wool cloak any traffic on the road might be wearing.

There was a lone rider on the road that day. The figure wore a grey-green cloak, and rode a shaggy looking horse. A bow was resting against the figures thighs, and the fletching of some arrows could be seen from over it's right shoulder.

It was the cloak that made the figure stand out as a Ranger. The grey-green camouflage of it helped the Ranger blend into the forested areas of the country-and there were plenty of those around.

If you looked closer, you would see that the Ranger was not a man, like what most people would expect. The Ranger was a girl, and a very special girl at that.

Her pitch-black eyes scanned the road and her surroundings as she and her pale brown horse made their way back to Castle Araluen. It had been a long few days. They had caught word of a bandit band in an outlying village. She had gone to stop the bandits, and had been successful. The bandits were now cooling their heels in a Lord's dungeons.

She sighed and reached down to fiddle with the knives that rested on her left hip. She was ready to get home and talk to Crowley, the Commandant.

"Well, Dancer," the Ranger said, smiling at the horse for a moment, "I think we're gonna make it home before dark tonight."

 _Of course we will._ Dancer replied, shaking her mane. The Ranger, Emily, rolled her eyes.

"And how do you know that?"

 _I can feel it in my tail._

Assuming a confused look, Emily looked out at her surroundings once again. It was at that moment that her world would be changed forever.

A bright column of white light seemed to burst from the clouds, and Emily pulled a section of her cloak up to her face to cover her eyes. The light was accompanied by the smell of rain, the silence that fell over the forest. Dancer, trained in the hard ways that all Ranger horses were trained, stood stock still, but closed her eyes tightly.

After a few moments of silence that seemed to last forever, the column made its way back into the clouds. Emily dropped her cloak, then patted her horse's neck lovingly.

"That was weird, wasn't it?" She muttered, before looking up. What she saw surprised her, although she let none of it show on her face.

In the middle of the road, a few meters away from her, where the light had hit, there were two people. One was male, the other female. They wore white traveling clothes that looked tattered and were torn in a few paces. The two people looked at their bodies as if they hadn't seen them before.

Emily shook her head, and walked Dancer closer to the two strangers.

"King's Ranger!" she called, causing the two people to look at her. There was something about their gazes that made Emily's stomach tighten slightly. Their gazes looked as if they knew something she had no clue about. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

The male glanced at his female companion, before stepping forward.

"My name is Gabriel, and this is Ivy, Ranger." Gabriel said. "There's no need to be afraid of us."

Emily raised an eyebrow at the man. "Who says I'm scared of you?"

"Well, I know you're scared of us. Your stomach is tied up in a knot, your palms are probably clamming up right now." he replied easily. Emily's mind was racing. How had he known about how she was feeling?

No...That wasn't possible.

"Very funny-" she started, but the man raised his hand for her to be quiet. She had to rein in a flare of anger at that.

"You think I'm lying, don't you?"

"Gabriel, be careful." The woman-Ivy-warned, quietly. "The mission."

Gabriel seemed to nod, glancing back at Ivy. At the Ranger's silence, he continued. "Why don't you take us to wherever you live and we'll tell you something."

 _Do you trust them?_ Dancer asked.

"I might have to," Emily muttered to the horse, and then, in a louder voice, "Fine. But I'm staying on my horse."

"That's perfectly fine, Ranger." Gabriel said. "Lead the way."


	2. Chapter 1: The Cabin in the Trees

It was almost dark outside when they reached the cabin in the trees. Emily had decided that King Duncan and Crowley could wait, as Gabriel and Ivy had taken up most of her attention at that moment. When they reached the cabin, she swung down from the saddle, tying Dancer's reins, and placing them over the horse's neck.

She looked at the two people. They were watching her expectantly, and she suddenly felt at a loss. There was room for three people in her small home, sure, but there was only two rooms. It was the standard Ranger cabin design, and it had been built a long time before she had arrived.

She shook her head, and stepped toward them. "I have enough room for you, but I only have two bedrooms. One of you will have to bed down in the livingroom."

"That's fine," Gabriel said, smiling. "Ivy can take the bedroom."

Emily nodded, and gestured to the door. "Well, you can go to the door, and wait there. I don't think it's unlocked. I have to bed Dancer down."

Gabriel and Ivy nodded, and made their way to the door. Emily shook her head, and whistled softly, and led Dancer to the stables.

"Something's off about them." Emily muttered, once out of earshot of the other people. "He talks like they are nobility, yet I have never seen them, before."

 _You can't know every noble person in the country._ Dancer said, and Emily turned to look at the horse.

"I _know_ I can't." she snapped."But don't you think it's a little bit off that there was a column of white light, and then they were standing in the middle of the road? They weren't there before then."

Dancer grunted, and Emily shrugged. She started to unsaddle the horse, putting the saddle on a wooden saddle holder that had come with the cabin. She fed and watered Dancer, then made her way back to the entrance to the cabin.

Gabriel and Ivy were conversing quietly on the verandah, but stopped when Emily approached. Emily felt her eyes narrow slightly, then forced herself to control her reactions. She stepped lightly up the stairs that led to the door, and looked at them.

"I'd feel better if you looked away for a moment," Emily said, and Gabriel and Ivy turned away. Emily unlocked the door to the cabin, and opened the door.

The inside was warmer than the outside, as a small fire was glowing in the fireplace. "Crowley must have been here today." She said, motioning for the two people behind her to follow her.

"Who's Crowley?" Ivy asked, her voice quiet, but firm.

"He's my Commandment. I have to go meet with him and King Duncan tomorrow, so you guys will be here alone for probably the whole morning-if not the whole day.

"But that's not what I want to talk about." Emily said, turning around and shutting the door behind her and her visitors. "You can't be from around here. I don't recognize you, and you talk too much like nobles to be common villagers. I want the truth: Who are you, and where do you come from?"

Gabriel and Ivy shared a look. It was a guilty look, as if Emily had discovered a secret they'd been trying to hide.

It was Gabriel who spoke after the silence had been stretched out for a few moments. "You're right, Ranger. We're not from here. We're from a place called Heaven."

"Gabriel..." Emily heard Ivy hiss, and raised an eyebrow.

"Heaven? That's a new one." she said, rolling her eyes. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Actually, I do." Gabriel said, his voice firm. There was no trace of wavering in his voice. "Our names are Gabriel and Ivy, and we're angels of the Lord."

Emily shook her head, pulling off her cloak. She couldn't believe her ears. Two people, claiming to be angels! Her day couldn't get much weirder.

"You don't believe him, do you?" Ivy asked, and Emily looked at her, nodding.

"It's not everyday I hear people claim to be angels of the Lord." Emily said, draping her chair over the back of one of the living room chairs.

"He's telling the truth." the supposed angel snapped, and the Ranger raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, really? Then prove it." she challenged.

"Fine, we will. But we'll need to do it outside."

Emily groaned inwardly. She didn't feel like going back out into the misting rain, but Gabriel and Ivy needed to prove that they were, in fact, angels. She grabbed her cloak, slipping her arms through the sleeves.

"Fine, let's go." she muttered, and walked outside. She led them down the stairs, pulling up the cowl of her cloak so that it covered her strawberry blonde hair. "Show me, then."

There was a look shared between the Gabriel and Ivy, and Emily shook her head.

"Any time before sunrise would be nice," she said sarcastically, and mentally thanked Halt for teaching her how to look completely uninterested in the situation at hand.

Ivy turned a baleful glance at the Ranger. She was starting to hate this one, and wondered, should there be more people like her, if they acted the same way. She nodded toward Gabriel.

And, for the second time that day, Emily felt her stomach tighten.

There was the ripping of cloth, and both Gabriel and Ivy grew wings from their backs, which extended out, then folded across their backs. Emily couldn't help to look over her shoulder to see if anyone else had been there to witness what she had just witnessed.

"W-what the..." Emily stuttered out, then shook her head, forcing herself to remain calm. "What the hell? Are those real?"

Gabriel nodded patiently. He knew that the Ranger must've been in shock. "They are. Now do you believe us?"

Emily nodded silently, pitch-black eyes as wide as they could go. "Let's go back inside," she said, her voice suddenly smaller than it had been. "I need some coffee."


End file.
